The discussion below is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
There is a trend in the automotive industry to use more and more electric drives for movable parts of the vehicles. In the case of roof assemblies for vehicles this trend is also visible, i.e. by the use of multi-panel roofs having multiple panels, sun shades and/or rollo's which are all electrically driven.
A drive unit which can be used for driving different parts of a vehicle is known from EP 1 588 882. This prior art document discloses a drive unit including an electric motor which is in engagement with a planetary gear mechanism having two or more output shafts to drive different parts through the same electric motor. Such drive units are expensive and the electric motors must be designed especially for this particular situation.